Licton Springs K-8

Posted: May 9, 2023

Because it is such a small school, especially in middle school everybody knows everyone because the in only 1 class per grade and the biggest class in middle school in 7th grade (20 people). That being said, if you don't like one person in your class you don't have them for just Math or something, no you see them all day every day. Most of the teachers are great (in middle school at least) I don't think that one person dislikes the Social Studies/Drama teacher or the ELA teacher and her Intern. The only people I have a problem with are the Math teacher and the Librarian, now I know because I put myself as a current student you will think I'm dramatic but NO! I'm not kidding when I say not one person out of all of middle school likes the math teacher and the Librarian, I mean it. But other than that, I have no complaints really about the school.

Posted: May 9, 2023

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Posted: March 1, 2022

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Posted: March 1, 2022

Ignore the test scores. LSK8 has a commitment to student growth, social emotional learning, and social justice. We are a small tight knit, diverse (the most diverse in the north end) community. LSK8 understands that diversity includes disabilities and neurodiversity. The school and parent community is welcoming and works hard to ensure that all families are able to participate.

The school is small. This is great for kids who've gotten lost in the shuffle or haven't quite fit in elsewhere. Small cohorts build close relationships and kids learn to treat each other with compassion and respect. My daughter transferred during online learning in 7th grade. You'd think that a close knit group of kids who'd been friends for years would be hard to break into. Nope. They didn't let her hide behind her screen. They pulled her in and welcomed her.

My daughter's IEP wasn't being followed so I moved her to LSK8. She went from below 6th grade math to caught up - during a pandemic and online - by the end of the year. Writing stamina and quality improved, tool. By the end of first quarter 8th grade, she'd met most of her IEP goals - something she'd never come close to at other schools due to lack of support. She is now confident, engaged and feels ready for high school. My 6th grader is HCC and does not have an IEP. Previous schools had only given him more work and ignored that he needed more advanced work. He is not in a HCC school because of the blatant segregation in the HCC program. His teachers have done an amazing job making sure he gets more challenging work even though that is more work for them. This includes other teachers helping to provide challenging material - not just his own teachers. This is one of the benefits of a small community with the staff all on the same page with regard to meeting student's needs regardless of the needs - the school is nimble and able to respond much more quickly than larger schools.

Bullying is addressed right away and remedies for the inevitable student conflicts (because they're kids and learning how to get along with other people) focus on relationship building.

No pull outs for sped services; needs are met in class and IAs help all students not just who is assigned to them. All students receive supports!

Note: The school moved to Ballard in December 2020 and is now located at 3015 NW 68th Street in the old Nordic Heritage Museum.

Posted: March 1, 2022

This option public school has been an amazing alternative to the standard public schools for my kids. The school has very small class sizes (a max of 60 kids per GRADE), a focus on diversity in kids and teachers!! (42%), and a focus on teaching kids about native studies. My kids really thrive in smaller class sizes with more attention from teachers. The smaller class sizes also mean that bullying is just not a thing. The school has a lot of support for IEPs and is in a BRAND NEW building in Ballard. We have felt very supported and welcomed into this community. If your kid needs a little more attention, it's a great place to be. "Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name."

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Posted: February 11, 2022

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Posted: February 11, 2022

My child entered Kindergarten at LSK-8 and we have been thrilled with the school. We initially chose this school because we believed in the k-8 model. I have heard of lots of kids having challenges in middle school and wanted to find an environment that would support my son during that period. We selected this specific option school because of the Social Justice focus. Seattle is a very liberal city, yet it is also a very white city with a lot of wealth. I frequently hear the same parents bemoaning the lack of diversity in the city and then selecting the whitest public and private schools based upon test scores. LSK8 is a very diverse community, not just in racial make-up but also in the enrollment of children who with disabilities, children who are nurodiverse, children of differing economic and cultural backgrounds, and children who are LGBTQ+.
The class size and staff to student ratio is also a selling point for LSk-8. As a former teacher myself I realize that there is no subsitute for the attention of qualified and caring adults...and LSK8 seems to have so many of them. The class size is very small, the school offers specialty teachers including art, music, PE, library, academic intervention, and a counsilor. I never feel like my child is overlooked or lost in a crowd. I speak with parents of Kindergarteners at other SPS schools and their are 3-5 kindergarten classes with 25 children in each. At LSK8 the smaller school size allows for a real feeling of community. I know the other kids and parents in the class, my child knows kids in different grades, my child feels seen and significant.
I was admitedly a bit concerned about the academics. All of the reviews show poor test scores, etc. I cannot speak to the older grades, but at the Kindergarten level my concerns were completely unfounded. My child went from non-reader to reader in the first few months of school. More importantly he is enjoying school and has fun learning, which is the most important element in successful education. The teacher does interesting and immersive assignments with the kids. My one complaint would be that there is homework and I am not a fan of HW for younger students, but it is really just a token amount to encourage responsibility.
I highly recommend this school and expect to keep my child here for all eight years.

Posted: February 7, 2022

I love the social justice aspect of this school. That paired with the small class sizes make it a great environment for my child to learn and thrive. My kindergartener began reading in only a couple months, and tells me all about the different things she has learned about other cultures. I plan on keeping her at Licton Springs until she ages out.

Posted: February 7, 2022

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Posted: January 10, 2022

Our 6th grader loves Licton Springs, and so do we. This is our first year, and we couldn't be happier. It's small and scrappy and prioritizes equity, justice, and individualized learning for kids. The teachers and staff are kind, flexible, and engaging, and our kid is learning so much. The classes are longer than most middle schools and they are somewhat experiential, both of which really help with comprehension and retention (they take fewer at a time, so that there is enough time to really get into a subject instead of switching every 40 mins). They want to maintain the spirit of the school--Native-aware, and a safe, accepting resource for kids who aren't thriving at other schools, who are 'different' in some way, who have non-typical life situations, etc. The new building is lovely (old Webster School, previous Nordic Heritage Museum), but the far west location made/makes it challenging for the school to keep up their previous student numbers and demographics (compared to being more centrally located and so kids were coming from all over the city. They were pushed out of their previous location by SPS prioritizing wealthier and louder families at CES & RESMS). We love that Licton Springs champions justice and nurtures differences -- ethnic, socioeconomic, neuro, gender, romantic preference, ability, racial, religious, cultural, etc. I wish we had sent our kid here starting in kindergarten!!

Posted: January 10, 2022

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Posted: June 23, 2014

I have been here my whole life. I started in kindergarten and stayed until eighth grade. It is a school where everybody has a voice and anybody can be who they want to be. It has always been under budgeted and has made up with their friendly community. I have learned so much here. Because of my math teacher I got a better math MSP score than 95% of the eighth grade students in seattle schools. Pinehurst is a school that everybody loves. I've never had so much fun at school.

Posted: June 2, 2013

I only went there for a year, but I found that I really liked this school. If you do better in a smaller environment then this is the school for you. I found myself able to attend almost every day of school unless I was actually sick, whereas at my previous school I was "sick" at least once a week. In my experience the kids here are open to making new friends, as long as you are too. Now the teachers are amazing. I loved my teachers and I felt that I would be able to talk to them about assignments. This would be a pretty good school for someone with anxiety, but the students may have a hard time realizing that you want to talk with them, but you just have a really hard time doing so. This school is amazing for many reasons, and I found that kids aren't afraid to be themselves, they don't try to hide who they are, this is pretty rare at most schools.

Posted: February 11, 2013

We love this school and all the teachers. My son is in kindergarten and he is thriving to learn new things every day. We really like the experiential learning approach and I think there are doing a great job at teaching respect, compassion and wonderful life learning technics. Just by looking at how the older kids in the school behave and interact make you see what a great school Pinehurst K8 is!

Posted: April 4, 2012

Small and heart-felt, this school has taken great care of my daughter over 6 years and she loves all the experiential learning opportunities. The staff work hard and are creative about teaching to all kinds of minds and guiding kids to good chocies.

Posted: April 4, 2012

Because the school is so small, it is understaffed, and the staff at this school is not willing to work hard to see the needs of the students are met. No experiential learning, no alternative discipline.